ABILENE, Texas — Britney Moreno, Payge Armendariz, and Megan Sterzer each homered to lead Utah Valley to an 11-1 win in five innings over the Abilene Christian Wildcats in a doubleheader split on Friday afternoon at Poly Wells Field.
The Wildcats rebounded in game two, earning the split with a run-rule win of their own, 11-2 in five innings.
Moreno extended her reached-base streak to 19 games, the longest by any UVU player since Madison Carr set the school record of 31-straight games reaching safely back in 2022. Moreno went 2-for-4 with three walks, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
Sterzer has a big day at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored.
GAME ONE
Lily Riley got the start in game one, going four innings with one ER allowed and striking out six before giving way to Hannah Ortega for the final frame.
Utah Valley scored in every inning for the second time this season, scoring twice in the first and never looking back. Angelique Mann dunked a bases-loaded single just in front of the diving center fielder, then Sterzer hit a sac fly to center to score the two runs.
After ACU got its lone run in the bottom of the first on a solo homer, the Wolverines answered right back via a two-run homer by Moreno, her fourth of the year. Armendariz tacked on another with a solo homer in the third, making it 5-1.
Utah Valley got all the runs it needed for the run rule in the fourth, rallying for four to make it 9-1. Mann executed a safety squeeze play and reached on the play as Tatum Hall slid in ahead of the throw at home. Sterzer then launched her third homer of the year over the scoreboard in left, plating three.
The Wolverines tacked on a couple more insurance runs in the fifth, with Hall driving in one on a groundout and Haygood plating the second on a single to right.
Ortega closed the door in the bottom of the fifth, working around an error to toss a scoreless frame.
GAME TWO
ACU flipped the script in game two, scoring in each of its innings to secure the 11-2 run-rule win.
Tatum Hall went 2-for-2, while Maddie McSorley and Haygood each drove in one.
After ACU took a 9-0 lead through three, UVU got one back on a sac fly by McSorley. The Wildcats answered right back with two of their own in the bottom of the fourth.
Utah Valley loaded the bases after Haygood's RBI single in the fifth, but were unable to get the runs needed to extend the game.
The Wolverines and Wildcats will play the rubber match of their three-game series tomorrow at 11 a.m. MDT. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with live stats at GoUVU.com/stats.
